Ethical issue: ownership and control of data

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Your school stores your name, address and grades in its student system. Who is the data holder?

A You, because the data is about you

B The school, because it holds and manages the data

2. Which statement best describes ownership and control of data?

A Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data

B How fast data can be copied between devices

3. An app holds your personal details. Which action shows you keeping control of your own data?

A Letting the app share your details with anyone it likes

B Asking the app to correct or delete your details

4. True or false: if an organisation holds data about you, it automatically has the right to do whatever it wants with it.

A False

B True

5. A company collected your email to send a receipt, then sold it to advertisers without asking. What is the ethical problem?

A The company ignored your control over how your data is shared

B The company stored your email in a database

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Data owner		ADELETE FROM customers WHERE id = 42;
2Data holder		BUPDATE students SET phone = '0412345678' WHERE id = 7;
3Individual control over own data: a person asks an organisation to fix wrong details about them		CThe shop is only the data holder, so it has no right to share the data without permission from the people it describes
4Organisations holding data: a company must remove a person's record when it no longer needs it		DAn organisation that stores and manages data about people but does not fully own it
5A shop sells a customer's email list to another company without asking the customers		EHolding data is not the same as owning it, so the person it describes should keep some control, including a request to delete it
6A student asks a club to delete their details, but the club says 'We hold it, so we own it' and refuses		FThe person or group the data describes, who keeps rights over how it is used

Definitions

Ownership and control of data

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

The _____ is the person the data describes

Individuals can _______ their own data

IF permission = _____ THEN DISPLAY "Do not share the data" END IF

A school storing student data is the ______

Control: hold, change, _____ and delete

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A data ← student health record

B owner ← school

C holder ← school

D holder must protect the data

Question 2

A request ← access to data

B IF person is a stranger THEN

C organisation gives a copy

D ELSE refuse request

Question 3

A app collects location data

B user ← asked for consent

C IF consent = FALSE THEN

D share data with partner

Question 4

A person ← Sam

B record ← Sam's address

C IF address correct THEN

D Sam can request correction

Question 5

A owner ← company storing data

B holder ← company storing data

C holder respects owner rights

Answer Key

Ethical issue: ownership and control of data

Section A: Quick Questions

B — The school, because it holds and manages the data

A — Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data

B — Asking the app to correct or delete your details

A — False

A — The company ignored your control over how your data is shared

Section B: Match the Pairs

Data owner → The person or group the data describes, who keeps rights over how it is used

Data holder → An organisation that stores and manages data about people but does not fully own it

Individual control over own data: a person asks an organisation to fix wrong details about them → UPDATE students SET phone = '0412345678' WHERE id = 7;

Organisations holding data: a company must remove a person's record when it no longer needs it → DELETE FROM customers WHERE id = 42;

A shop sells a customer's email list to another company without asking the customers → The shop is only the data holder, so it has no right to share the data without permission from the people it describes

A student asks a club to delete their details, but the club says 'We hold it, so we own it' and refuses → Holding data is not the same as owning it, so the person it describes should keep some control, including a request to delete it

Section C: Definitions

Ownership and control of data — Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data about a person or topic. An organisation may hold the data, but the person it describes should keep some control.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

The owner is the person the data describes

Individuals can correct their own data

IF permission = FALSE THEN
  DISPLAY "Do not share the data"
END IF

A school storing student data is the holder

Control: hold, change, share and delete

Section E: Spot the Error

B — The owner is the person the data describes, which is the student. The school is only the holder. It should be: owner ← student.

B — Only the person the data describes (the owner) should be given access to their data. A stranger should be refused. It should be: IF person is the owner THEN.

C — Data should only be shared when the user has given consent, so the condition must test for TRUE. It should be: IF consent = TRUE THEN.

C — Individuals control their own data, so they can ask for corrections when the data is wrong, not when it is correct. It should be: IF address wrong THEN.

A — The owner is the person the data is about. The company storing the data is the holder. It should be: owner ← person described.